“I wondered what could
happen if the rich of the world would share with the poor… without holding
back, giving their all and believing that the Lord would provide more as
needed.” – Katie Davis ‘Kisses from
Katie’
“God wanted us to care
for the poor, not just care about them, but to truly take care of them, and
many of us were not doing so. God told us to love our neighbors as ourselves,
but so many of our neighbors were starving to death while our tables were
filled with abundance.” – Katie Davis ‘Kisses
from Katie’
When I come to a stop, I hunch over the steering wheel and
weep. How could we let this happen, how could I become numb to such tragedy? Watching
statistics scroll across a screen, my
mind goes blank, my heart becomes numb and I have found myself checked
out thinking it’s just a number, until I am slapped violently with the
realization that that number, is not just a number, but a child’s beating
heart, a babies starving cry, my fellow
brother or sister screaming for affection. I am saddened beyond belief and I am
mad as hell.
“For the first time in humanity over one billion people are
chronically hungry.” Please read this again, and this time, let your mind try
to wrap around what this means, “For the first time in humanity over one
billion people are chronically hungry.” If you’re like me, one billion people
is almost impossible to imagine, so think of it like this, every 60 seconds, 10
children die from starvation. I don’t know about you, but I cannot sit by
knowing that this kind of suffering is happening in our world. In a world where
we are more obsessed with celebrities, fashion, and the Prince of England’s
wedding than we are about injustices, world tragedies and the dire needs of
dying children. In America we are overly blessed with the abundance of food,
clothing, shelter, communication, entertainment, wealth; I could go on and on
we have so much stuff. We are a community that feeds off of greed. We never are
satisfied with what we have or content with having less, instead we stand in
line to buy the newest iPad, the greatest new video game, or camp out for the
limited edition electronics; needless to say we already have all of these we
just want the best of the best, because that’s what we deserve right? Well I hope that one day, and I hope that it’s
sooner rather than later, we’ll wake up to realize that all our material
possessions are just that, things that clutter our lives and take away from the
true values of what we have in our lives, like our friends and our families. Our
material possessions cannot be taken with us when we leave this world, and for
most of us, we’ll be wanting to discard of them soon anyway we when get word that
Apple is coming out with the iPad4. I long for the day that instead of camping
outside a movie theater to be the first to see the midnight showing of Hunger
Games, we’ll be sitting around with friends on weeknights staying up past
midnight, sharing in ways to end world hunger. Instead of athletes going on
strike because they are not making enough money, they will donate a large
amount of their money to take a strike against the injustices of the world. I
dare to dream that instead of waiting to buy the newest electronic device to be
put on the shelf the minute the next great thing comes out, we will question
what is truly best for the consumer here; and what is it that we should
actually be consuming. I would like to challenge each and every one of you that
takes the time to read this to think about what it is that you are starving
for? Is it food, or is it the idea that you’ll have everything you ever wanted
if you could just have X. Then before you go to buy that one item that will
make you the happiest you’ve ever been, contemplate what it would mean if you
decided to give up your material possession for something as wonderful as
filling the belly of a starving child; helping to end world hunger and making
that child the happiest they’ve been knowing that someone in the world cares
about them and they are loved. Just think, as you’re day dreaming of buying “X”
that young girl in Africa is daydreaming of eating a meal tonight. While you’re
in line, waiting for the newest toy to be released, that young boy in India
stands in line wondering if there will be enough food for him to eat. And as
you pull out your credit card to buy another useless item you don’t need, think
about using that card to help a child in need by using it to give more by
having less. Please don’t let the statistics be just that, a statistic, because
if we don’t do something about it now, sooner rather than later, you or someone
you know very well could be one of those statistics that the world turns their
back to, saying, oh it’s just another number. While you scream, I’m more than a
number I am a child of God. If it was your mom, your sister, your dad, your
brother, or Jesus standing on the street corner holding a sign that read, “HUNGRY,
PLEASE HELP” could you walk away? I didn’t think so, please don’t wait, they
need our help now. Your 60 seconds has started and I hope you're willing to say enough is enough; I'm doing something about this.
To learn more about ways to get involved in ending world hunger, please e-mail
change@25inchange.org saying "I WANT CHANGE". This is associated with Pathways Church in Denver, and their valiant effort to help end world hunger.
“Miracles aren’t what
other people do. They’re what each of us does. They’re what happens when
ordinary people take extraordinary action.” – Regina Brett ‘Be the Miracle’
“I wanted to give even
more. I wanted to do more for the people who needed help and I wanted others to
rise up and do the same. I didn’t want to simply care for these people, I
wanted to advocate for them. I wanted to raise more awareness for these
voiceless unseen children.” – Katie Davis ‘Kisses from Katie’
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